Luo Yuan, rear admiral in the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, and a well-known hawk, was invited to attend a meeting in Shenzhen on December 20 and delivered a speech regarding the current Sino–U.S. relationship.

Luo Yuan claimed that the US-China trade war “is definitely not a simple economic and trade friction” but an “important strategic issue.” The origin of the conflict is that “the U.S. national strategy has changed.” In the United States, there are many differences between the two parties, between the House and Senate, and among the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State. The only consensus they have is the China issue.

In his speech, Luo Yuan strongly advocated that China should respond with “asymmetric counterattacks.” That is, “use my strength to attack the enemy’s shortcomings. Strike at what the enemy fears. Focus our development on the enemy’s soft spot.”

Luo Yuan said that the “five fundamental foundations of the United States” are the military, the dollar, talent, the ballot, and the creation of enemies. Among them, in the military, “the United States is most afraid of death.” Luo suggested using a missile to sink one U.S. ship and cause 5,000 casualties, and two with 10,000 casualties. “Let’s see if the U.S. is afraid or not.”

On the ballot, Luo Yuan claimed that playing the U.S. soybeans card would particularly hurt Iowa, a stronghold of the Trump campaign. Targeting American made cars would make GM, Ford, and Chrysler “second-rate companies.” Luo also suggested playing the airplane card, as one out of every three Boeing’s 737 passenger jets are sold to China. These three items are China’s “bargaining chips with the United States.”